


Falling For You

by CoffeeAddict80



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:15:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26030263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoffeeAddict80/pseuds/CoffeeAddict80
Summary: A fic written based off a mash-up of these two prompts from the @gleepotluckbigbangprompt page--Prompt1: During rehearsal I tripped and fell into the orchestra pit and landed on youPrompt2: I have to share a dressing room with the most obnoxious, self-centered jerk; and when you sent flowers to our dressing room, they took them assuming they were for them but they were really for meFeaturing: Broadway!Kurt, PianoPlayer!Blaine, Obnoxious!Broadway!Sebastian
Relationships: Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel
Comments: 60
Kudos: 112





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is fully drafted and a new chapter will be posted every day until it's complete (there are only 5 chapters)  
> I hope you enjoy it! :)

“Alright, everyone! Let’s take a 20-minute break. Hopefully when we start back up, some of you will have learned the difference between your left and your right,” the director called out, exasperatedly, staring at two particular ensemble actors hiding in the back. “We’ll take it from the top of Act 2 – _again_ – when we reconvene.”

While most of the other actors cleared the stage to take a water break, Kurt stayed behind to rehearse on his own. He was currently in rehearsal for his new Broadway musical _‘No Doubt About It’_. The show was opening in two weeks, and even though he was only cast in a supporting role, it was the first time he’d ever been given a solo. Kurt wanted to make sure he executed it flawlessly. As he was going over his dance steps again, he tripped over his shoelace that had come untied, let out a loud shriek, and fell off the edge of the stage into the orchestra pit.

“Hey, Hummel! You alright!? You hurt at all? You need me to get a medic?” the director shouted, looking down on him from the top of the stage.

“No, I’m okay!” Kurt called out to him, still trying to get his bearings.

“Alright,” the director replied, before turning around to yell at someone Kurt couldn’t see. “Why was the safety net not in place?! Who’s responsible for making sure that thing goes up anyway? I can’t afford to have any of my performers getting seriously injured because someone else didn’t do their job properly!”

Kurt tuned out the director’s shouting, wondering what broke his fall since the ground beneath him felt softer than he was anticipating. As he gingerly sat up and looked around him, he noticed an attractive man lying underneath him. “Oh my god!” he said, scrambling to get off of the man. “I am _so_ sorry! I am such a klutz. I didn’t even notice you there. Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

The man groaned softly as he carefully sat up, taking a moment to examine himself before answering, “I’m fine. No injuries that I’m aware of – except maybe a bruised tailbone, but nothing serious. What about you? Are you okay? That was quite the fall you took.”

“Yeah, I’m good. My ankle is a little sore, but it doesn’t feel like it’s sprained or anything,” Kurt replied, gently rubbing away the mild pain in his ankle. “I can’t believe I just fell on you like that. I’m _really_ sorry. I was rehearsing my dance steps on a different part of the stage that I’m not used to, and I guess I didn’t realize how close I was to the edge. Are you sure you’re okay? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“I’m fine; really. Besides, it was my own fault.”

“Unless you’re the reason the safety net is not in place, or you secretly untied my shoelace – causing me to trip over my own feet – then I don’t see how any of this is your fault,” Kurt told him. “I really am so, so sorry.”

“It’s okay. And I don’t know who’s supposed to be responsible for the net, but I do know that the only reason you fell on me is because I tried to catch you,” the man replied, blushing. “I didn’t want you to hit your head on the floor or have an awkward landing on the edge of one of the chairs and seriously injure your ribs or something. I thought I could just catch you, and you’d be okay; but I guess I underestimated how the velocity of your fall would impact my ability to support your weight. After I caught you, I lost my balance and we both hit the ground. At least I managed to avoid crashing either of us into the chairs – well…mostly, anyway.”

“You tried to catch me? How? I don’t understand. What…what were you even doing down here anyway?”

The man smiled bashfully and nodded. “Well, this _is_ the orchestra pit, and I’m in the orchestra, so… Unlike everyone else, I don’t usually leave the pit during breaks. However, I got up from the piano to stretch my legs and walk around a bit. I heard you shriek, looked up, saw you fall, and rushed over to catch you.”

“Oh. That’s really thoughtful of you. Thank you…um…” Kurt paused, looking at the man quizzically. “I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.”

“It’s Blaine. Blaine Anderson. And I think I heard someone call you Hummel?” he replied.

Nodding in confirmation, he extended his hand in greeting. “It’s _Kurt_ Hummel, actually. But you can call me Kurt. Pleasure to meet you Blaine Anderson. Thank you for attempting to save me from my own clumsiness. I’m sorry that I ended up taking you down with me.”

“It’s okay. But we should probably get up off of the floor now,” Blaine said, wrinkling his nose at the floor underneath him.

“Oh, right!”

Blaine quickly got to his feet then offered Kurt a hand to help him up. Once Kurt was on his feet, Blaine began to straighten out a few of the nearby chairs he’d pushed aside earlier before trying to catch Kurt.

“I, um, I should get back up on the stage. Thank you, again. I’m glad I didn’t hurt you.” Kurt began to turn toward the stairs and promptly lost his balance, falling forward onto Blaine again.

“Whoa! You alright?” Blaine asked, catching and steadying him. “Is it your ankle? Did it just give out on you? Do you need me to get a medic to look at it?”

“No, I’m alright. Sorry ’bout that. My ankle’s fine. I just…”

“Forgot to retie your shoelace?” Blaine finished, breathing a sigh of relief and chuckling lightly while staring down at Kurt’s feet. He nudged Kurt to take a seat in one of the nearby chairs, then bent down to tie Kurt’s shoelace for him. “There. All set. Double-knotted so it shouldn’t come undone during rehearsal again.”

“Thank you,” Kurt replied, blushing.

Blaine got back to his feet, then once again offered Kurt a hand to help him stand up. “Not a problem. You’re sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, I am. And I’m really sorry that I fell on you again. You would think someone in my line of work would have better coordination.”

“It’s fine, Kurt; really. I’m just glad that second stumble was because of a shoelace issue and not an ankle injury,” Blaine replied, sincerely.

“Me too.”

“I’ll let you get back to your rehearsal now.”

Kurt smiled and nodded then turned and hurried up the stage stairs.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning Kurt got to rehearsal early, hoping he’d be able to catch Blaine before either of them became too busy to talk. A few minutes later, he saw Blaine walking toward the orchestra pit, staring at his phone with an angry scowl. “Excuse me. Blaine?” Kurt called out, tentatively.

Blaine looked up from his phone, startled. “Oh, Kurt. Hi.”

“I’m sorry to bother you. I hope I’m not interrupting something important,” he began, motioning to Blaine’s phone.

“You’re not a bother. And _this_ ,” he waved his phone around to convey his meaning, “is definitely not important. It’s just my annoying ex-boyfriend thinking that he can sweet-talk me into giving him tickets to opening night’s show. Which is definitely _not_ going to happen, no matter what he believes, what he promises, or how much he begs; and not just because opening night is already sold out either.”

Kurt’s eyes widened in shock. His jaw dropped before he stammered out, “ _B-Boy_ friend?”

“ _Ex_ -boyfriend. Heavy emphasis on the ‘ex’.” Blaine narrowed his eyes at Kurt’s reaction. “I can’t tell if your reaction is because you are _judging_ me for having a male ex or if it’s something else…”

“No! No, I’m definitely not judging you,” Kurt told him. “I was just surprised, is all. Not in, like, a _negative_ way or anything like that. Just… I didn’t realize that you weren’t straight. I don’t know why I automatically assumed that you were. I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry. But there is absolutely _no_ judgment from me _at all_ , especially since I, myself, am gay. I’m sorry if my reaction offended you. That wasn’t my intention. I really need to stop making assumptions about people. Sorry.”

Blaine waved away his apology. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. But was there something that you needed?”

“Oh, right! Um, I wanted to apologize _again_ for falling on you yesterday – _twice_. And to try to make up for it, I brought you this.” Kurt opened up his satchel and took out a small container of cookies. After handing the container to Blaine, he made a soft groan of frustration. “I just realized I probably should have asked if you had any food allergies or dietary restrictions before I handed you a box of cookies, shouldn’t I?”

“This is really thoughtful of you, Kurt. Thank you. And don’t worry, I don’t have any allergies,” Blaine said. “But you don’t need to keep apologizing for yesterday. You didn’t intentionally take a swan dive off the stage; and you wouldn’t have landed on me had I not tried to catch you. Neither of us were seriously hurt, so there is no reason to dwell on it. And you _really_ didn’t need to buy me cookies either.”

“I didn’t buy them. I made those. I wasn’t really sure what you’d like, so there is a dozen chocolate chip, a half-dozen sugar cookies, and a half-dozen snickerdoodles in there.”

Blaine made a soft gasping sound. “Chocolate chip cookies are my favorite,” he said, breathily. “Okay. Fine. I will accept your cookie apology, but we are _even_ now, okay? The events of yesterday are in the past. All is forgiven. We move forward with a clean slate. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” Kurt replied, sealing the agreement with a handshake.

“Hey, Gay Face!” Sebastian, one of Kurt’s costars, called out to him, interrupting the moment. “Jeanne’s looking for you. She finished the alterations on that coat and needs you to try it on.”

Kurt clenched his jaw then took a deep breath before replying, “I’ll be right there.” He looked at Blaine apologetically. “I need to get to work. I’ll talk to you later maybe?”

“Yeah, sounds good,” Blaine answered, smiling. “Oh, and Kurt? Try not to trip this time.”

Kurt gave Blaine a half-hearted glare then smiled as he rolled his eyes while shaking his head before hurrying to the backstage area.

\---

As Kurt rounded the corner to go backstage, Sebastian began to walk alongside him. “So, who was that you were talking to? Is he a part of the crew or something? I didn’t recognize him. And while I often doubt your intelligence, I didn’t think you were stupid enough to try to smuggle an outsider into a _closed_ dress rehearsal. But maybe you are; because the two of you looked rather… _friendly_ – especially if that dopey grin on your face is anything to go by.”

“Oh, um, he’s actually in the orchestra,” Kurt replied. “And what you saw was just polite small-talk between coworkers. Nothing more.”

“Right. I’m sure that’s all it was,” he said, sarcastically. “However, I couldn’t help but notice that you didn’t tell me orchestra-boy’s name. Why is that? I mean, if that was just a casual conversation, then there’s no need for you to be so secretive, is there?”

They reached the Wardrobe Department, and Kurt promptly ignored Sebastian in favor of inspecting his costume. “Hi, Jeanne. I heard you were looking for me?”

As Kurt and Jeanne got down to work, Sebastian smirked to himself then exited Wardrobe to head to the stage.

\---

When it was time for their lunch break, Kurt hurried off the stage to his dressing room – which he shared with Sebastian – to change back into his regular clothing. He rushed around the room, gathering his things to go out. Sebastian walked in a few moments before Kurt was ready to leave. “What are you in such a rush for?” Sebastian asked, eyeing Kurt suspiciously, as he began to change out of his own costume.

“I’m not. Not really. I’m just hungry, and I want to get out of here so I can eat. We don’t have a lot of time before we need to be back here to continue rehearsing.” Kurt finished gathering his things then turned to leave. “See ya later!”

Kurt moved swiftly down the hall, hoping to catch Blaine before he left the building. As he turned the corner, he crashed headfirst into someone exiting the men’s room. “Oof! Sorry.” Kurt mumbled, distractedly, not noticing who he bumped into.

Just as he was about to go around the person, Kurt heard the man chuckle. “We really need to stop meeting like this.”

Kurt whipped his head up at the comment and realized the person he’d crashed into was Blaine. “Blaine. Oh my god, I am so sorry. I was in a rush and I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.”

“It’s fine, Kurt; really. I was just teasing you. I’ll let you rush off to wherever it was you were going now.”

“Oh, well, I was just heading out to get something for lunch,” Kurt told him. “Would you maybe…would you like to join me?”

Blaine paused to consider his answer before he replied, “Yeah. I think I would, actually. Thank you.”

“Great! Are you all set to leave? Or did you need to do or grab anything before you go?”

“No, I’ve got everything I need. Let’s go.”

\---

Once the two men were seated at a table in the café down the street, Blaine hesitantly asked Kurt, “What’s the situation with that guy from this morning? The one that told you that someone was looking for you. Is he homophobic? Or…”

“Sebastian? No. Sebastian is actually gay – unfortunately. But, he’s…I don’t know how to word it…anti-effeminate men? Or at least, I think that’s his issue. I heard him mumble something about people like me feeding into the stereotypes of gay men that he hates being associated with,” Kurt explained. “But most of the insults he throws at me actually _aren’t_ because of that – even if it sounds like they are. His biggest reason for insulting me is because he originally auditioned for the role that I was cast in. And Sebastian doesn’t think that I am a good enough actor or singer to have earned it. He thinks he’s more deserving of the part than I am – that since his résumé is more impressive than mine, he’s more qualified.”

“Ah, okay; that’s a relief,” Blaine said, nodding. “In my experience, jealousy is _a lot_ easier to endure than homophobia, so I’m glad that it’s just jealousy over receiving a smaller role and not actual homophobia that’s the driving force behind his bigotry.”

“That’s the worst part, though! His role _isn’t_ smaller than mine,” Kurt exclaimed. “The role he was cast in actually has _more_ stage time than the one I have – by about ten minutes. Neither of us are the lead nor do we have minor background roles or anything like that; we’re both in the main cast. Each of us has a supporting role with a good amount of dialogue and stage time. And we are almost equal in the amount of dialogue we have too; I think he has, like, two more spoken lines than I do. The difference, however, is that my character has a solo, while his only sings in group numbers. And he can’t stand not having that spotlight.” He let out a calming breath before continuing, “Anyway…enough about Sebastian. Tell me about you. I know you are in the orchestra, but that’s about it. What do you play? Is this the first Broadway show you’ve done?”

“I play the piano. And no, this is not my first Broadway show. I have been a sub for _dozens_ of different shows – coming in to play for only one or two performances because someone else needed to take a day off; sort of like an understudy. This show, however, marks the third time that I’ve been a part of the main orchestra for a Broadway production. What about you? Is this your first Broadway show?”

Kurt chuckled and shook his head. “No. I’ve been in quite a few productions on Broadway before. Usually, I get cast as chorus or ensemble – sometimes I get a line or two of dialogue. But this is the first show where I’ve actually been cast into such a big role. I know it’s just a supporting role, but I have a lot of stage time and dialogue in this show; and like I mentioned before, I even have a solo. And if it weren’t for an incident that happened at the last show I worked on, I most likely wouldn’t have even been _considered_ for this role; I’d be stuck in the ensemble… _again_.”

“What kind of incident?” Blaine asked, cautiously.

“One of the other performers – who had a fairly small, yet _important_ , part in the production – came to work one Saturday morning sick as a dog,” Kurt began. “He insisted that he was fine and could go on without any issue. As his understudy was trying to talk him into going home, the guy vomits all over the floor. His understudy slips in it, falls, and breaks his leg. They both got sent to the hospital. So, now we have no one to play the part. And you know what they say: _‘the show must go on’_ , right? Well, I knew the lines, I knew the blocking; my ensemble role didn’t have any lines and wouldn’t be missed if I wasn’t there, so I volunteered to go on in his place. The understudy and I had roughly the same body build, so his costume would fit me without a lot of adjustments. They were desperate, so they begrudgingly agreed. And not to brag, but I _killed_ that part! I was _amazing_. Too bad it only lasted one weekend. The regular actor was back at work the following Tuesday.

“ _Anyway_ , the director of that show is now directing the one we are currently doing. So, when I auditioned for the part of Nathaniel in this production, he _knew_ I could do it. He’d seen me step into a role that _no one_ , including him, thought I was capable of – at the last-minute with barely a few hours’ notice – and blow everyone out of the water. And I honestly don’t think I would have been cast in this production if I wasn’t given that opportunity during my last show.”

“The director didn’t think you could do it?”

“Nope. No one did. When I originally auditioned for that show, I had actually auditioned for that role that I filled-in for, and I was told I wasn’t a good fit for the part – that I didn’t have the right sound or image they were looking for,” Kurt told him. “I’m constantly being evaluated on my appearance and my speaking voice, and never my actual talent. No one ever sees me as leading-man material. Hell, I’m barely even considered for small side characters – unless of course it’s the overly-flamboyant, gay friend. I’m _always_ relegated to the background – playing second fiddle to everyone else. But that situation forced everyone to look past all those first impressions of me to see what I was actually capable of – it opened a door that had been previously closed to me. And I just hope that _this_ performance – that playing Nathaniel – can do the same thing on an even bigger scale – open _more_ doors, and grant _more_ opportunities, that normally would be closed to me.”

“Well then, I hope this part gives you the access to those opportunities that you want,” Blaine replied. “Since I spend most of my time _under_ the stage, I haven’t actually seen any of the rehearsals that I’ve been present for, so I’m not _too_ familiar with the show. You said you play Nathaniel, right? I’m trying to piece together the parts of the show I’ve heard with the music I play to figure out which song is yours, but I keep coming up empty.”

“Yes, I play Nathaniel. He sings _‘She’s With You’_ in the second act.”

“Really? I love that song! It’s my favorite piece to play from the show. The music from that song is just _so_ beautiful.” Blaine then looked at Kurt contemplatively. “That’s really you singing that?”

“That’s really me,” he confirmed. “Why? Didn’t think someone that spoke like me could sing like that?”

“No! No, that’s not it at all! I was just trying to wrap my head around how a director could hear you sing like _that_ during an audition and think the only part you were suitable for was the ensemble. Your voice is incredible!

“Even before I heard you sing _‘She’s With You’_ , I loved the song. I loved playing it. I loved hearing how the song sounded with the entire orchestra playing. The melody…it’s captivating,” Blaine continued. “But your vocals on that song bring _so_ much more emotion to it. The first time that the orchestra played that song at a joint rehearsal, I was nearly in tears at how moving the whole thing sounded – music and lyrics – together. You elevated that song; you gave it _life_. The way that you sing it…it’s _breathtaking_. An ‘average’ singer would never be able to pull that off. What you do with that song – vocally – takes a lot of talent and skill.”

Kurt ducked his head, blushing. “Oh. Thank you. That’s very kind of you to say.”

“It’s the truth.”

The two men continued to chat during their lunch break before heading back to the theater.

\---

When Kurt and Blaine arrived back at the theater after lunch, they still had about 10 minutes before Kurt needed to change back into his costume. They sat down on the side of the stage to continue talking and getting to know one another. Soon after they sat down, they were approached by Sebastian.

“We haven’t met yet,” Sebastian began, smirking at Blaine. Extending a hand in greeting, he continued, “I’m Sebastian Smythe, one of the principal performers of this production. I don’t recall seeing you around during rehearsals before, and your face is one that I would _definitely_ remember.”

“Oh, um…” Blaine stammered, blushing. “My name is B-Blaine. A-Anderson. Blaine Anderson. I’m in the orchestra. Piano player. I’ve been here every time that the orchestra has, but I spend most of my time in the pit – under the stage – so that’s probably why you haven’t seen me before.”

“Hiding someone that looks like you under the stage should be a crime,” he replied, licking his lips, as his eyes swept up and down Blaine’s body.

“Th-thank you?”

Kurt interrupted before Sebastian could reply again. “Looks like rehearsal is about to start back up. I need to go change. I’ll see you around, Blaine.”

“Yeah, and I really should be getting back to the pit,” Blaine said. “I’ll talk to you later, Kurt. It was nice meeting you, Sebastian.”

“Oh, the pleasure was _all_ mine,” Sebastian told him.

Kurt rolled his eyes and took off for his dressing room without another word.

\---

Once back in their dressing room, Sebastian grinned mischievously. “Oh, I can already tell this is going to be _fun_.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Kurt asked, as he began to change into his costume.

“Blaine,” he replied. “Did you see the way he was stammering and blushing at me? Looking at me with those big, wide eyes of his? Getting into his pants is going to be _so_ easy. Too easy, if you ask me. But you know… I think I enjoy watching you get all riled up and bitter over his obvious infatuation with me enough that I’m going to drag this out a little more. Instead of just hopping right in the sack with him, I think I’ll have some fun with him first. Make you suffer while I continue to flirt with him just enough to keep him interested in me…and forget all about you.”

Kurt remained silent, clenching his jaw, and trying to take deep, calming breaths.

“What? Got nothing to say to that?” Sebastian mocked. “It’s obvious you like him, or you wouldn’t have gotten so annoyed when I started flirting with him. Or should I say: when _he_ started flirting with _me_. But let me lay down some facts for you… Even if I wasn’t around, you _still_ wouldn’t have a shot with him. He is _way_ out of your league. However, since I am around…you _definitely_ don’t have a shot with him. So you might as well just give up now. Because by the time this show closes, I _will_ have him in my bed, and you will have _nothing_ – which is exactly what you deserve.”

Kurt rolled his eyes and shook his head in disbelief. “You are so damn full of yourself,” he said, picking up his character’s coat and storming out of the dressing room toward the stage.


	3. Chapter 3

Before rehearsal the next morning, Kurt stopped by the coffee shop down the street from the theater. He thanked the barista as she handed him his coffee then spun around to go to the condiment station, bumping into someone as he did so – narrowly avoiding spilling his coffee. “Oh god, I’m so sorry.”

“You really weren’t joking about your lack of coordination yesterday, were you?” Blaine said, amused.

“Blaine?” he replied, confused, before sighing and shaking his head in disbelief. “I wish I had been joking about that. I swear I didn’t even see you standing there. And I honestly don’t mean to keep colliding into you either. I really am just a klutz. At least I avoided dousing you in coffee. That’s gotta count for something, right?”

“Yes, I definitely appreciate _not_ being covered in hot coffee. But you’re not entirely to blame for bumping into me; this was partly my fault too. I thought you had heard me say your name as I walked up behind you, otherwise I wouldn’t have been standing so close when you turned around.” The barista then called out Blaine’s name, so he took his coffee from her, before continuing, “Are you heading into rehearsal now?”

“Yeah, I just needed a caffeine fix first,” Kurt said, motioning to the cup in his hand then taking a large sip of his drink. The two men grabbed what they needed from the condiment station then left the coffee shop together to begin their walk over to the theater. After swallowing down another sip of coffee, Kurt continued, “My friend, Mercedes, is working on her album out in California this week. We’ve both been so busy for the past month or so, that we haven’t had much time to talk. So, when she called me last night, forgetting about the three-hour time difference, I couldn’t exactly hang-up on her just so I could sleep at a reasonable time, you know?”

“I do, actually. I go through the same exact thing with my brother all the time. Cooper lives in Los Angeles, and he is _constantly_ forgetting about the time difference. Most of the time, we both have really crazy schedules, so it’s hard to find time to just talk to him. He usually winds up calling me around 11 o’clock or midnight; and I wind up staying awake a lot later than I should just so we can have a conversation.”

“Is that why you needed the caffeine boost this morning? Talking to your brother kept you awake?”

“No,” Blaine began, shyly. “I, um…I was awake too late last night because I was working on some original piano compositions. My creative muse refused to be ignored.” Blaine then gasped and held up a finger, telling Kurt to hang on before rummaging around in his bag. “Speaking of which… Here is your container back. I even washed it out for you too.”

Taking the container from him and placing it inside his own satchel, Kurt arched an eyebrow at Blaine and replied, “Okay, I have two questions I need answered. One: are you implying that your creative muse was a container of cookies? And two: there were two dozen cookies in there. You ate all of them already?”

Blaine buried his head in his hands to hide the blush on his face. “No…not exactly,” he mumbled. He pulled his hands away then looked at Kurt. “I didn’t want to forget to return your container, so I transferred the ones I didn’t eat yet into one of my own containers. And no, I was not implying that the cookies were my muse… just that I was snacking on them while I was working on my composition. Which, by the way, those chocolate chip cookies you made are absolutely divine. The others were really good too. But the chocolate chip ones were my favorites.”

“And you’re sure you didn’t eat them all?” Kurt teased.

“Yes, I’m sure. I only had one of each kind…and then maybe three additional chocolate chip ones.” They reached the theater and began walking through the backstage area. “Aren’t you heading out to the stage now? Or do you have to go somewhere else first?” Blaine asked, when Kurt began to turn down a hallway heading away from the stage.

“I’m going out to the stage in just a sec. But I just want to drop my bag off in my dressing room first.”

“Mind if I accompany you? I’m a little early, so I don’t have to be in the pit just yet.”

“Of course I don’t mind.” When they reached Kurt’s dressing room, Kurt opened the door a crack and placed his bag on a chair next to the door. Then they continued their walk toward the stage.

Pointing at the dressing room’s doorplate just before leaving, Blaine jokingly asked, “Room C? Is the ‘C’ for Curt?”

“I spell my name with a ‘K’, thank you very much.” He then smirked at Blaine before adding in a cheeky tone, “Besides, didn’t you ever watch _Sesame Street_ growing up? I thought everyone knew that _‘C is for cookie’_.”

Blaine chuckled and nodded. “Silly me. How could I forget? And well, you do make delicious cookies, so I guess I can see the correlation; and” he gave a brief pause before adding, in his best Cookie Monster impression, “ _that’s good enough for me_.”

“Did you just…?” Kurt trailed off looking at Blaine in shock.

“What? You can’t just start a musical phrase without expecting me to finish it. Even if it is a song for preschoolers.”

\---

Once they reached the stage, Kurt checked in with his director and realized he still had almost 20 minutes before they began their pre-rehearsal warm-ups, so he and Blaine sat down on the side of the stage to chat while they finished their coffees.

About ten minutes after they sat down, Sebastian joined them. He sat down on the other side of Blaine, close enough so their thighs were touching, causing Blaine to blush and look away. “Blaine,” Sebastian said, as a way of greeting. “It’s good to see you again. Are you staying topside to watch the pre-rehearsal warm-ups? Or are you needed down in the pit?”

“Oh, I, uh… I can’t stay,” he answered, regrettably. “I need to go down to the pit to do my own warm-ups. Plus, the orchestra does provide some of the music for the second half of the cast warm-up too, so…”

“That’s too bad. I was really hoping you’d be able to stay and watch for a while – catch a preview of some of my moves. Well, the PG version of them anyway,” Sebastian said, winking.

As Blaine blushed and ducked his head, Kurt rolled his eyes and groaned in frustration. “Do you have to turn everything into some sort of innuendo?” Kurt snarked.

“Now, now. No need to be jealous. Just because you have two left feet and can’t move your body like I can, doesn’t mean you have to be so bitter. I’m a trained dancer. It’s only natural that I would be able to move my body in ways that you could only dream of. And unlike you, I won’t fall off the stage when I do it either.” Sebastian tapped Blaine on the arm to get his attention. “Were you around when he did that the other day? Took a nosedive right off the side of the stage? I was backstage at the time, so I unfortunately didn’t see it, but I heard all about it. It must have been hilarious.”

“Laugh it up,” Kurt scoffed, before Blaine could reply. “I could have been seriously hurt. But of course you don’t care about that.”

“But, see, you weren’t hurt,” Sebastian said. “So, therefore, it’s not wrong to make fun of you. In fact, mocking you for it is a way for me to motivate you to get better. Because if you were actually _good_ at your job, you wouldn’t have fallen. But you _aren’t_ good at your job; and everyone here knows it.” Sebastian then stood up to leave, giving Blaine one last lingering glance. “See you around, killer.” He winked at Blaine then walked to the other side of the stage.


	4. Chapter 4

Over the next few weeks, Kurt and Blaine continued their habit of talking to each other before rehearsals, then getting lunch together during their break. Whenever Sebastian would see the two of them together, he’d make sure to join in the conversation – blatantly flirting with Blaine in front of Kurt, causing Blaine to blush and stammer.

On opening night of the show, Kurt and Blaine were both so busy that they weren’t able to talk before the show. They had smiled and waved at one another as they bypassed each other backstage when they first arrived but hadn’t found any time to talk after that.

As Kurt and Sebastian were in their dressing room getting ready for the show, there was a knock on their door. Sebastian opened it to reveal a theater employee holding a bouquet of flowers. “Delivery.”

Sebastian took the flowers from the man then – without a word – dismissed him with a wave of his hand.

“Wait!” Kurt called out to the employee. “Who are they for?”

“Instructions just said ‘dressing room C’. Check the card maybe?” the man replied, shrugging, before walking away.

“Who would send flowers to you?” Sebastian sneered. “They’re _obviously_ for me. Just like the last two flower deliveries were.”

“I’ve also received flowers today too, you know.”

“Yeah, sure you did; whatever you say. But _fine_ , just to prove to you that these flowers are for me, I’ll check the card for a name,” he replied, somewhat sarcastically. Sebastian pulled the card out of its holder, cleared his throat in an exaggerated manner, then read it aloud. “ _Congratulations on opening night. Break a leg tonight! I just know that you’re going to pull focus and steal the show; just like you’ve stolen my heart. – Signed, Your Secret Admirer_.” He gave Kurt a pointed look then said, “See? What did I tell you? There’s no name but these are obviously for me. Because there’s no way in hell they’d be for you with a message like that.”

Kurt rolled his eyes, then continued to get ready for the show while muttering under his breath, “With a message like that, you probably sent them to yourself.”

After the show ended, Kurt stayed backstage to meet some VIPs, then he changed out of his costume, and went outside to greet fans at the stage door before heading home.

\---

The next day, when Kurt arrived at the theater, Blaine managed to catch him for a few minutes to talk before either of them became too busy. “Yesterday was pretty crazy, huh?” Blaine said. “Your solo sounded absolutely breathtaking. And it appeared like the audience really loved the show too.”

“Yeah, yesterday was insane. And we get to do it all over again tonight! I can’t wait! And thank you, by the way.”

“F-for what?” Blaine stammered, anxiously.

“For the compliment? About my solo?”

“Oh, right. That. Sorry. I don’t know where my head was,” he replied, apologetically, sounding relieved. “You’re welcome. You really did sound incredible. I just wish I could have seen it. Hopefully, I’ll be able to take a show off in order to catch a matinée soon.”

Sebastian walked up behind them and interjected himself into the conversation. “You should definitely take the time off and catch a show. You’d be able to see me in action. My performance is a lot more captivating when you can actually see it. I certainly draw in people’s attention. And it would be _extremely_ obvious that I’m a lot more talented than Hummel here – in more ways than one.” He winked at Blaine before adding, “After all, I received _multiple_ congratulatory gifts and flowers for yesterday’s performance and,” looking at Kurt, rhetorically asked, “how many did you get? Oh, right. None. Because you’re _not good enough_.” He then walked away without another word.

“You…you didn’t get any flowers yesterday?” Blaine asked Kurt, nervously.

“No, I did. But I just don’t like bragging and boasting about stuff like that, unlike him,” Kurt clarified. “And I’m pretty sure that he sent himself at least half the gifts he did receive just so he could feel like he was superior or something. He is so self-centered. He honestly thinks he’s the only person worthy of any positive attention, and wants everyone to be jealous and envious of him at all times.”

“Well, I’m glad you actually did receive flowers yesterday. Every performer deserves opening night flowers,” he said.

“Oh that reminds me!” Kurt exclaimed. He opened his satchel and took out a small gift bag, then handed it to Blaine. “It’s not flowers – and it’s a day late – but I got you a little something to celebrate opening night.”

Blaine gasped and blushed as he took the bag from Kurt. “Kurt. You didn’t have to do that.”

“No. But I wanted to. Open it.”

Blaine gave him a resigned nod, then opened the gift bag, pulling out a music composition notebook.

“You mentioned once that you write your own piano compositions. So, I thought I’d get you a notebook of blank staff paper; that way you’ll be able to jot down any ideas as you think of them,” Kurt said, shyly.

“It’s perfect. I love it. Thank you so much.” Blaine gave Kurt a quick hug. “I honestly can’t believe you remembered me telling you that. And now I feel bad because I don’t have anything to give to you. I didn’t even think…”

“Don’t worry about it. I didn’t buy it because I was expecting something in exchange; I came across that notebook while I was out doing shopping for something else, and it reminded me of our conversation in the coffee shop a few weeks ago, so I picked it up. Opening night seemed like a good excuse to give it to you.”

“No, Kurt. It’s not right. I should be able to hand you a present as well. You gave me this beautiful gift and I…” he trailed off. “How about this? Tomorrow – between shows – I’ll buy you dinner. Anything you want.”

“If I can persuade you to eat dinner with me, then you have yourself a deal.”

“You _absolutely_ can persuade me,” he replied, grinning. Blaine then looked at his watch and sighed. “I really wish I could stay and chat some more, but I need to get to the pit. I’ll talk to you later maybe?”

“Of course. I probably won’t be able to talk after the show because of all the VIP meet & greets and the stage door signings, but there’s always tomorrow.”

“There’s always tomorrow,” he confirmed, with a bright smile on his face.


	5. Chapter 5

During the 5-month run of the show, Kurt and Blaine grew very close to one another even though they were only ever able to chat for a few minutes before each show – except on the days when they had two shows. On those days, the two men would not only talk before each show but would also grab a meal together and chat in between shows as well. Occasionally, Sebastian would join them for their meals or interject himself into their conversations, hitting on Blaine the entire time, and then teasing Kurt about it later.

Once every month during the show’s run, there would be another unlabeled delivery – consisting of either flowers or another small gift – to dressing room C, which Sebastian would claim as his own. Each of these deliveries was signed ‘Your Secret Admirer’. Sebastian had so much fun teasing Kurt about it while also speculating who his mystery admirer was.

On closing night, after the final curtain call, Kurt and Sebastian were in their dressing room getting ready to leave when there was another flower delivery made. “Oh, those must be from my secret admirer,” Sebastian teased Kurt, taking the flowers from the delivery man.

“You mean, they’re from you, pretending to be some secret admirer, so you can try to make others envious of you,” Kurt replied, rolling his eyes. “Too bad I don’t actually care.”

“Don’t be jealous…” Sebastian took the card out and read it to himself before gasping out loud. “Or rather, _do_ be jealous!” He then read the card aloud to Kurt. “ _Congratulations on a fantastic run! You were beyond amazing every single night. I’m both elated and heartbroken that this show has come to an end. Heartbroken because I would love for this show to go on forever; and elated because now I can finally ask you out on a proper date. I’ll start by asking this: would you accompany me to the cast party tonight? I’ll stop by your dressing room to get your answer in person before you leave to do the stage door. – Your (not so secret) admirer, Blaine._ ” Sebastian looked up at Kurt to get his reaction then smirked at him. “What did I tell you? Too easy. I said I’d have him in my bed by the time this show ended; and look at that…right on time.”

“Let me see that,” Kurt demanded, indicating the card in Sebastian’s hand. He read the card to himself then let out a shaky breath. “This is Blaine’s handwriting. He really did send this.” Kurt handed the card back to him then quickly gathered the rest of his things and rushed out of the room.

~*~

Blaine took a deep breath before knocking on the door to Kurt’s dressing room. A few seconds later the door swung open to reveal Sebastian standing inside the room. “Hey there, killer,” Sebastian said, flirtatiously.

“Se-Sebastian? Wh-what are you doing here?” Blaine stammered out, before quickly checking the doorplate next to the door.

“What do you mean ‘what am I doing here’? This is my dressing room. Where else would I be?”

“ _Your_ dressing room?” he replied, shocked.

“Yeah. But you already knew that, didn’t you? After all, you have been sending me gifts here for the past five months.”

Blaine shook his head. “No. No. This…this is dressing room ‘C’. This is _Kurt’s_ dressing room, isn’t it?”

“Unfortunately there weren’t enough rooms backstage for everyone to get their own separate space, so Hummel and I have been forced to share. But what are you asking about him for anyway? Trying to make sure him and his stupid, little crush on you doesn’t ruin our date tonight? You don’t need to worry about that. I highly doubt he’s even going to show up to the party tonight after he read the card on the flowers you sent me. He practically ran out of here in tears. Pathetic!”

“No. I…I didn’t send anything to you,” he denied. “Those flowers were for Kurt. I didn’t know you shared a room with him.”

“Why the hell would you send flowers to _Hummel_?” Sebastian asked, repulsed.

“Because I lo- because I _like_ him!” Blaine buried his face in his hands, trying to get his anxiety under control. He peeked up at Sebastian, and in a tired voice asked, “Where is he?”

“Wait. Hold up. This doesn’t make any sense. If you ‘ _like_ ’,” he emphasized the word with exaggerated finger quotes, “him, then why were you sending gifts to _me_. Not only that but you’re always flirting with me too. Do you get a kick out of sending mixed signals or something?”

“I never flirted with you. And those flowers – and all the other gifts I sent – _weren’t for you_!” Blaine exclaimed. “Everything I had sent to this room was for _Kurt_ ; because this is Kurt’s dressing room too. If I had known that he shared his dressing room with _anyone_ – you especially – I would have made sure his name was on the card. But I didn’t know, and you ended up taking them without even giving _him_ a second thought! What made you think they were for you in the first place?”

“Because he’s a loser! Who would ever send him anything? Not only that, but no one in their right mind would ever choose him over me.”

“Well then, I guess I’m not in my right mind,” he said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go find Kurt.”

“He already left the building. Have fun tracking him down,” Sebastian said, slamming the door in Blaine’s face.

\---

Blaine rushed out of the theater hoping to catch Kurt at the stage door signing autographs but didn’t see him outside. The security guard let him know that Kurt had already gotten into a car and left. Blaine flagged down a taxi and gave the driver the address of the restaurant where the cast party was being held, hoping that Kurt would be there – despite what Sebastian said.

There was a security guard posted at the door of the restaurant, stopping Blaine from entering. “Sorry. We’re closed for a private party tonight.”

“Oh, I’m part of the show. My name should be on the list.”

“Name?”

“Anderson. Blaine Anderson.”

The security guard checked his list, tapping a pencil against it. “ID?”

Blaine handed the man his ID. The guard checked Blaine’s name off then handed him his ID back. “All set. Have a good night.”

“Thanks. Um. You wouldn’t by chance be able to tell me if Kurt Hummel has arrived yet, would you?” Blaine asked.

“I can’t give out that information.”

“Right. I’ll just look for him inside then.” Blaine entered the restaurant and looked around the room searching for Kurt. After a few minutes, he finally found Kurt sitting alone at the bar, and cautiously took a seat next to him.

“I’m really not in the mood to talk to anyone right now,” Kurt told him, without glancing up from his drink. “So, you should just go back to your date; spend time with him instead.”

“I don’t have a date,” Blaine told him.

Kurt narrowed his eyes at Blaine before replying, “I find it hard to believe that Sebastian would turn you down with how much he was _gloating_ about you revealing yourself as his secret admirer.”

“That’s the thing…I was never his secret admirer.”

“I saw the card, Blaine. I recognized your handwriting from all the notations I’ve seen you make in your composition notebook while we talked during breaks,” Kurt told him.

“You’re not hearing me. I was never _his_ secret admirer. I sent those flowers to _you_ , Kurt.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. I had no idea that you shared a dressing room with anyone, let alone him. All those little gifts I had sent to your dressing room…they were all meant for you. I didn’t realize you never received any of them.” Blaine paused briefly before continuing, “The day after opening night, when Sebastian made that comment about you not getting any flowers, you had said that you did receive some but didn’t like bragging about it. I thought that meant you received the flowers _I_ had sent to you. And that you never mentioned any of the other gifts around me after that because you didn’t like bragging.”

Kurt shook his head. “No. My friend, Rachel, came to see the show on opening night and stopped backstage beforehand to give me flowers. Throughout the entire run of the show, Sebastian took _all_ the flowers and gifts that had been sent to the dressing room and claimed them for himself. His ego is so enormous; he believes he’s the only person deserving of any kind of positive attention or accolades.

“There’s something I’m curious about though,” Kurt continued. “When I gave you the music notebook as an opening night gift, you acted like you had forgotten to get a gift for me; but you apparently had flowers sent to my dressing room for me. Why pretend to be forgetful?”

“I sent those flowers to you anonymously,” Blaine began. “My name wasn’t on the card. When you gave me the notebook, I realized that I should have gotten something else for you that I could actually take credit for – something you would know came from me. I was so caught up in trying to keep my true feelings for you a secret, that it didn’t even cross my mind that it was okay to give a friend a congratulatory gift. That’s why I wanted to make it up to you.

“And I am so, so sorry for this whole mix-up. I really wish I had known you didn’t have your own dressing room. You never told me you shared a space with him. The only time I was ever even _near_ your dressing room, neither of us entered it; you only opened the door enough to place your bag inside before we went to the stage.”

“I thought you knew,” Kurt said. “But not only that, you and I didn’t always get a lot of time to talk, and I didn’t want to spend all of it complaining about Sebastian – especially since I thought you liked him, and I was _trying_ to be respectful of that, despite how much it hurt.”

“You thought I liked him? Even before the whole secret admirer reveal mix-up? How? I thought I was being pretty obvious that I like _you_ – even if I was trying to keep it a secret. After all, the reason I made so many music notations when we were together was because you were my inspiration – you were my muse.”

“If that’s true…if you liked me…why were you always flirting with Sebastian whenever he’d interrupt us to talk to you? You always turned into this shy, bashful, blushing, stuttering mess whenever he even looked at you. It would drive me so crazy! I kept wanting to shake you and point out how much of an asshole he was so you would just get over him already and notice me instead.”

“First, it’s ‘like’, not ‘liked’; _present tense_ ,” Blaine corrected. “Second, I’ve _always_ noticed you. Third, it wasn’t like that. I wasn’t _flirting_ with him. What you saw as coy, bashful behavior, was actually me being embarrassed and uncomfortable. I wasn’t stuttering and blushing because I admired him; I was doing that because he makes me nervous and apprehensive.”

“Then why didn’t you ever say anything? Why not just tell him to stop or go away?”

Blaine closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them, he looked Kurt in the eye and said, “When I first started working on Broadway, I was very outgoing and social with everyone. I was always very friendly, talking to anyone and everyone – cast, crew, other orchestra members – during our downtime. I was only ever in the pit if I had to be. I loved feeling like I was a part of something big, even if I was only a substitute. And then, about five years ago, I got selected to be part of the main orchestra of a big Broadway show for the first time. I spent a lot of time with the cast and crew during rehearsals before the show opened, and also during any downtime we had after. 

“Then one day, one of the performers in the show asked me out on a date. At the time, I had a boyfriend, so I politely declined. The next day I was fired. He had gone and reported me for sexual harassment. Threatened to quit the show unless something was done about my inappropriate behavior. He was _the_ lead in the show. Not only that, but he was a _big-name_ actor too; his name alone was responsible for over half the ticket sales – and we were already three months into a sold-out run of the show by then. I was just some nobody piano player that no one ever even saw, let alone knew the name of. So I was let go without any kind of inquiry into the situation. On my way out of the building, the actor that had reported me was walking in. He jokingly asked me where I was going. When I told him I had been fired, he laughed and said _‘if you didn’t turn me down, maybe you’d still have a job’_.

“It took a really, _really_ long time – _years_ – before I was able to get another gig on Broadway – even as a _substitute_! And when I did finally find employment again, I kept my head down and blended into the background; I never left the pit, and I never spoke to anyone unless they spoke to me first – and _only_ if it was related to the show we were doing. Staying invisible was how I kept my job – whether I was main-orchestra or just a substitute, it didn’t matter.

“And I started out doing the same thing at this show too. Until someone neglected to put the safety net up over the pit, and a beautiful man fell on me. Suddenly I was no longer invisible. And, as much as I loved talking to you and getting to know you, it unfortunately opened the door for Sebastian to start talking to me too.

“Sebastian has the exact same type of entitled and egotistical personality as that other actor – the one that had me fired. I didn’t want history to repeat itself. My career would never survive another _false_ harassment report.

“Didn’t you ever notice that I never sought him out? The only times I would be seen talking to him were when he approached me. But you know who I did seek out? You. Because I wanted to spend time with you. I really, _really_ like you, Kurt. And I am so sorry that I was too afraid of losing my job to tell you that sooner.”

“I wouldn’t have reported you for anything if you did ask me out,” Kurt told him, softly. “I would have said yes. The only reason I didn’t ask you out myself was because I thought you liked Sebastian.”

“I know you wouldn’t have reported me,” Blaine agreed. “But I also didn’t want to risk Sebastian making a false report out of jealousy. With the way he was always hitting on me – and putting you down – I didn’t think he’d appreciate it. He’d see it as a personal rejection. That’s why I never signed any of the gifts with my name until the show closed – in case he somehow found out about them. But now that the show’s over, I figure I can’t be fired from a job if there’s no job to be fired from, right?”

“So you really don’t like Sebastian? You…you like me? Enough to want to date me?”

Blaine nodded then swallowed thickly before answering, “Actually, if you want to know the truth, I… I’m in love with you. I realized it a few weeks ago – when I took the night off so I could actually see the musical. Watching you perform…it was a magical experience. You were absolutely brilliant up on that stage. Waiting until closing night to ask you out has been pure torture.” He glanced down at Kurt’s lips then leaned forward to kiss him. The kiss was soft and slow, but full of passion. When the kiss broke, Blaine ducked his head, bashfully. “Was…was that okay? Should I have asked first?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure yet. Maybe you should do it again,” he replied, playfully.

This time Kurt met him halfway, kissing him even more intensely. “Yeah. That was definitely okay. And just in case it wasn’t clear, I love you too. In fact, one could say that I _fell_ for you a while ago.”

Blaine chuckled and shook his head. “And I am so thankful that you did.”


End file.
